


slippin' up under my feet

by HearJessRoar



Series: seein' you with eyes wide open [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is embarrassed multiple times, And marinette has to lie through her teeth, Bc she ships ladynoir and kind of annoys the hell out of her friends, F/M, In which alya is all of us, just some faux angst over first kisses it's all good no worries they got this, they maybe don't got this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6146280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HearJessRoar/pseuds/HearJessRoar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Marinette doesn't think that Ladybug and Chat Noir are a couple,” Alya explained, looking far too smug. “I mean, <em>c’mon!</em> Have you seen the way he looks at her?”</p><p>Yes, Marinette had in fact seen the way he looked at her. He was doing it just a second ago, before he'd seen that stupid picture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	slippin' up under my feet

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to the fic that would not end
> 
> i'm over on tumblr if you wanna come say hi or toss me a prompt
> 
> also i keep forgetting to mention that this whole series is titled from ryn weaver's "free"
> 
> i actually tried to edit this time but if i missed something, don't be surprised

Alya drove her insane some days.

But then, her lack of interest in the goings-on of Ladybug tended to send Alya up the wall, so fair was fair.

“I just don't understand how you can't see it!”

The picture blurred as Alya shoved the phone close to Marinette’s nose. She went cross-eyed trying to keep it in view.

“They're clearly crazy about each other, Marinette!”

Marinette shook her head, pushing away Alya’s hand. “And I think you're reading too much into something that isn't there.”

Oh god, lying through her teeth was so, so, hard these days.

Alya huffed, scrolling through her camera roll. “Ladybug and Chat Noir are meant to be together, and I _will_ prove it to you.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, opening her history book on her lap and flicking through it with disinterest. Her heart was pounding against her ribs.

_Thu-thud._

_Thu-thud._

She hoped Alya wouldn't notice that her cheeks had undoubtedly gone a little pink.

Because Alya was so very right.

But Marinette couldn’t tell her that, not ever. To change her stance of disinterest in the love lives of the beloved superheroes would be too suspicious, would make Alya too curious about her change of heart.

She had to admit, that particular picture was as cute as it was heartbreaking.

It'd been a few weeks ago, after a rough akuma had tossed them all over Paris. They were both tired, and more than a little bruised, and Chat had looked at her like she’d personally put the stars in the sky as he held out his fist to bump against hers.

So she'd hugged him instead, fingers digging into his leather-clad shoulders, burying her face into the crook of his neck as the bell at his throat dug into her cheekbone. He'd said nothing, wrapping his arms tightly around her and resting his cheek against her hair.

The snapshot put up on the Ladyblog that night had captured how exhausted he was, but it was the clear contentedness on his face that had made all the fans swoon. Marinette herself could almost tear up just thinking about it. It was overwhelming, having someone care for her so deeply.

She'd brought Adrien cookies the next day, slipping them into his locker while Alya distracted him. They were shaped like pawprints, frosted neon green, and maybe they were kind of a corny gesture, but she was ridiculously proud of them.

They still didn't talk much at school, too wary of arousing suspicion with sudden camaraderie. Marinette had been tongue tied and awkward around him for months, after all. To flirt and joke the way they did in costume would have been too much. But the little things were more than enough.

Absently, she touched the tiny hairclip she'd found on her desk that morning. It was pin-style, old fashioned and clearly expensive. The glittering, jeweled ladybug soldered to the end stood out in stark contrast to her hair. She'd let down her pigtails just to be able to use it, pinning her hair behind one ear.

Marinette sighed, leaning her head back against the top of the bench as Alya fiddled with her phone next to her. It was too pretty a day to be reading textbooks, she decided, staring into the branches above them. The leaves filtered green-tinted light down upon them, speckling Alya’s hair when Marinette tilted her head to look at her.

Her best friend was muttering to herself, swiping furiously on her phone. From what Marinette could see, Alya was deep into the Ladyblog, posts from over a year ago sliding away as fast as they appeared. She made a triumphant little noise, tapping on a picture to enlarge it.

She sat up straight again, internally bracing herself for the barrage to come as Alya turned the phone to her.

Marinette was very glad she could act when it mattered. Her carefully neutral expression was getting a workout today, because _of course_ that was what Alya’d been searching for.

The picture that Alya had shoved in front in her was the one of Ladybug's kiss with Chat Noir last Valentine's Day.

“Ha, proof! You don't kiss someone like _that_ if you're not into them!”

And yes, okay, Marinette could see her point, it was pretty clear that Ladybug hadn't exactly gotten it over with as fast as she could have.

Because, well...at the time she'd kind of gotten distracted by the feel of his lips and the way he'd begun to purr and honestly it'd been so long since she'd kissed anybody, she’d been a little lost in the moment.

“Who's kissing who that they're not into?”

Nino's head appeared between them, startling them both. Her textbook fell to the dirt at her feet with a thud, Alya’s phone following a second later. Nino grinned smugly, evidently proud of himself. He'd leaned over the bench behind them, and Marinette wondered how they hadn't heard him approach.

Alya pushed him back with one finger on his forehead. “I will be, if you keep that up.”

Nino pouted at her. “But you'd still kiss me, even if you weren't into me? Aw babe!” he reached over to crush her in an obnoxious hug. Alya’s protests were ruined by her giggles as he tried to press a kiss to her cheek.

Marinette rolled her eyes fondly at them, shaking her head. She leaned down to pick up her book, but found that someone else had beaten her to it.

Adrien was smiling sweetly at her, knelt on the ground and holding out her textbook. She took it, lips quirking shyly as Nino continued his pretend torture of Alya next to her.

“Your hair looks nice like that,” he said quietly. Marinette tucked a few stray strands behind her ear self-consciously as he reached for Alya’s phone, lying facedown by her foot.

“Thank you,” she murmured, knowing that he caught her intent; she didn't just mean for the compliment, or for picking up her book, though both were appreciated. The small pin in her hair was probably the most expensive thing she owned now, but it wasn't the price that touched her heart.

It meant he'd been thinking about her when he'd seen it, but even better, it symbolized in plain view the secret they kept for each other, and no one was in on the joke but them.

“See, Adrien sees it!”

Alya’s victorious exclamation brought her away from her thoughts and back to Adrien, now standing next to the bench. He was holding Alya’s phone, which undoubtedly still had the liplock picture emblazoned boldly across the screen. He was looking at it with a strange mixture of confusion and what looked like a bit of hurt. Guilt settled heavily in her stomach like a lead weight.

_He doesn't remember._

His eyes flickered to hers as he leaned over to give it back to Alya. Marinette forced herself not to blush, shaking her head ever so slightly. 

“Marinette doesn't think that Ladybug and Chat Noir are a couple,” Alya explained, looking far too smug. “I mean, _c’mon!_ Have you seen the way he looks at her?”

Yes, Marinette had in fact seen the way he looked at her. He was doing it just a second ago, before he'd seen that stupid picture. 

“That doesn't mean that she's looking back, though,” Adrien muttered, sitting next to her and avoiding her eyes by staring at the ground.

Marinette dug an elbow into his hip as subtly as she could while Alya protested loudly, dramatically claiming that she'd thought Adrien had been on her side. Nino took the opportunity to start tickling her.

“Stop that,” she whispered, shifting her book slowly to block Alya’s view of her hand as she set it on the seat of the bench next to his. With any luck, Alya wouldn't notice that she'd curled her pinkie around Adrien's. 

He was looking at her from the corner of his eye, but said nothing. 

Alya finally broke away from their play fight, wheezing and clutching her phone tightly in her fist. “They...would be...so good together,” she rasped, trying to catch her breath.

Marinette snorted. “Alya, knowing you, you're going to go harassing them about their love lives just to prove me wrong. What if they haven't talked about it? You could really embarrass them,” she trailed off uncertainly as Adrien untangled his hand from hers.

He pushed off the bench, towering over them and looking like the epitome of cool and composed. Marinette saw right through it, the shaking of his fingers giving him away as he carded them through his hair. 

“Marinette's right, you'd probably embarrass her-them,” he corrected himself, and she felt the pit in her stomach grow heavier. “I have to go, big shoot this afternoon.” he gave them a goodbye wave, picture-perfect smile firmly in place as he practically ran out of the park.

Marinette bit her lip, watching him go as Alya and Nino called goodbyes after him, resuming their bantering behind her.

-

She still wasn't sure what had happened when she met him that night, lounging around a rooftop like a lazy housepet. The zipping of her yo yo string caught his attention, but he didn't get up to greet her, sprawled on his back with his hands under his head. 

“Evening, chaton. What are you doing?”

Chat freed one hand and twirled it grandly above him. “I'm wondering what the stars would look like without all the light pollution.”

She sat down next to him, knees under her chin and arms wrapped loosely around her calves. “Have you been to the countryside?”

He shook his head, grinning ruefully at her. “Even when I'm allowed to leave Paris, I'm kept firmly indoors, my lady.”

“Mhmm. Why do I get the feeling you don't stay there?”

“Cat's gotta stretch his legs meow and then,”  
He snickered when she snorted at his wordplay. “But no, I've never been. What do the stars look like there?”

Ladybug stretched her arms over her head, dragging fingers across the night sky. “Like someone spilled tiny diamonds across the deepest, darkest black velvet.” she smiled down at him, but he wasn't meeting her eyes, staring blankly into the clouds. “Chat?”

He shook himself, his grin weak and wavery. She reached over to brush his hair away from his eyes. “You ran away from me today. What happened?”

She could see Adrien in the way his careful expression slipped into place. “I had a photoshoot, I told you-”

“You're a very bad liar, kitty. At least when it comes to me. Always have been.”

He closed his eyes and took his time answering, letting silence fall between them. With the stars above and Paris illuminated below, he was lit in the most interesting way, streetlamps glinting off his hair.

“That picture bothered you.”

Well, no one ever claimed that she was a patient superhero, no matter how lovely he looked just then. With a sharp intake of breath, wide green eyes snapped open. She glimpsed them for only a moment before he rolled onto his side, away from her. Still he said nothing. 

Ladybug pursed her lips. Well, goading him had worked pretty well in the past. “I mean, I understand if you're embarrassed to have photographic evidence of a girl like me kissing you,” she muttered, playing up her woe-is-me voice to its extreme.

It worked beautifully; in an instant, Chat Noir had nearly twisted himself into knots trying to face her as fast as he could. He scrambled to her side, forcing himself into her personal space with a pleading look in his eyes. She swallowed her giggles. 

“My lady, never, I -”

She reached up to place her palms on both sides of his face, holding him still. “Gotcha,” she murmured, throwing in a wink. They were nearly nose to nose, and with both amusement and confusion she watched the tiniest sliver of skin beneath his mask turn faintly pink. A terrible thought occurred to her.

Had she stolen his first kiss?

She released him, scooting back and pushing herself to her feet. She could feel his questioning eyes on her as she began to pace.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Adrien had been home schooled for the majority of his life, he'd had no opportunity for dating. It'd be perfectly reasonable if he hadn't kissed anyone and felt self conscious about it. Oh, she felt awful.

Her own first kiss hadn't really meant much to her, a throwaway peck at a party a few years ago during spin the bottle. But she knew that a lot of people considered their first kiss sacred, and if Adrien felt that way, and she'd taken that from him, _ohhhhhh this was bad._

“Ladybug?”

“I'm sorry!” she blurted, whipping around to face him. He'd gotten to his feet as well, hands in front of him like he was approaching a spooked animal. A puzzled look skittered across his face.

“Sorry for what? You didn't do anything!” frustration colored his voice and Ladybug shrank away from him, feeling too much like Marinette at the moment. Chat sighed, rubbing at his eyes with a gloved hand and dragging it down his face. “My lady, I promise that you did nothing wrong. My problem is mine and mine alone.”

Ladybug shook her head, loose hair fanning around her ears. “Chat, we're partners. Your problems are my problems,” she reached for him, hands settling on his shoulders as his rested lightly on her hips. “Please, let me help.”

“It's stupid-”

“Chat, did I steal your first kiss?”

Well, directly to the point had always worked better for her, anyway. But his reaction wasn't quite what she had been expecting.

He laughed.

Hard.

So hard that he had to rest his forehead against her shoulder to catch his breath as she stood there, dumbfounded.

“I was serious,” she muttered, shoving him off and crossing her arms.

Chat, still grinning widely even as he stumbled with the force of her push, reached for her again. She stepped firmly out of his range, giving him a withering glare.

It had no effect on his sudden jovial attitude. If anything, his smirk stretched wider. “My lady, you did. But I wasn't upset by that.”

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to elaborate. 

“I was mad that I can't remember it. It's stupid, but it's true. Oh, and then,” he suddenly looked a little bashful, doing the thing he did where he put a hand to the back of his neck awkwardly. Ladybug refused to find it cute. Refused.

He gestured that he wanted her closer, and as it was clearly something important, Ladybug obeyed without hesitation. She watched him carefully as he swallowed nervously, staring at his boots.

His was very quiet as he said,“Then I realized I nearly kissed Marinette for the film, and well, yeah. Kinda beat my head against a wall for missed opportunities.”

And in that moment of time, he looked so shy and sweet and embarrassed, she did the only thing she could have done.

She kissed him.

He yelped against her mouth, surprised as she brought her hands up to his jaw to keep him still. But he adjusted quickly, slanting his mouth over hers just so. His hands hovered around her hips, finally settling at the small of her back as she pulled closer to him. Her fingers slid down to his shoulders, and she waited, hoping…

She felt it before she heard it, the rumbling in his chest pressed against her without a hair’s breadth between them. She giggled against his lips, breaking away.

“You're purring, chaton,” she whispered, leaning her forehead against his. His eyes were closed, his face pink, and the purring didn't stop as she went in for another kiss.

-

While pretending that the picture Alya was shoving under her nose was absolutely not proof of anything, Marinette made a mental note to get it framed.

“Alya, c’mon, they could just be hugging. Maybe one of them had a bad day.”

Alya looked ready to tear out her hair. Or maybe Marinette's hair. Probably Marinette's hair. She scooted her chair to the furthest edge of the desk.

“People don't hug with their _lips,_ Mari!”

She shrugged, taking out her history book and realizing it had dirt smudged all over the back cover from the day before. Gross. Marinette scraped at it with her thumbnail.

In front of them, Adrien was hunched over his tablet, but Marinette could see him snickering.  
“All right, say that Ladybug and Chat Noir _were_ having a steamy midnight rooftop make out session. What does it matter to you, Alya? You want in on it?” she teased.

Alya rolled her eyes. “Who wouldn't? They're both super hot. And all the leather that boy wears? Chat Noir is probably kinky as hell.”

Adrien choked.

As Nino patted his friend on the back, he looked up at his girlfriend with concern. “Babe, are you dumping me for superheroes? Because I don't think I can recover from that.”

Alya pretended to consider it, tapping her finger against her chin. She waved the thought away as Nino looked unimpressed. “Nah, they seem pretty happy with just them in the relationship. I'd hate to throw off their dynamic. Besides,” Alya leaned over the desk to kiss Nino’s cheek, giving him a smile as she pulled away. "I'm pretty happy where I am, too."

Adrien, with his head on the desk, made gagging sounds. Nino slapped his back a little harder than necessary. 

“Jealous, Agreste?”

He snorted, sitting up. “Hardly.”

“Really? Because last time I checked, no beautiful girls were kissing you unless they were being paid to do it, model boy.”

Marinette giggled, managing to turn it into a cough. Boys were ridiculous sometimes. 

And the fact that she'd had her lips all over his the night before was suddenly just really, really funny.

“Maybe you should check again,” was all she heard before his mouth crushed against hers and okay, _ow,_ he needed to work on his aim. He'd had to practically lift himself onto her desk though, so she could forgive him for clicking their teeth together.

Thoughtlessly, she melted into it, lifting a hand to his jaw to tilt him into a better angle.

She blinked rapidly as he pulled away, looking too pleased with himself for her comfort. Marinette rolled her eyes as he sat down heavily in his chair again, giving Nino a superior look.

She was about to get back to cleaning her textbook when she caught Alya’s wide eyed expression. If her jaw got any lower, it'd fall off. Marinette stared back at her, daring her to say something. 

“What?”

Alya glanced down at her phone, new photo enlarged across it still, then back at Marinette. She felt herself start to sweat under her friend's unrelenting gaze.

But then Alya shook herself, muttering something about being left out of the loop these days and what sounded vaguely like a threat if she didn't get details.

Marinette slumped with relief, eyes boring holes into the back of Adrien's head as he typed away too innocently on his tablet.

He would be a doomed kitty when she got her hands on him later.


End file.
